Unknown Land
by Owls Down The Rabbit Hole
Summary: Germany and Italy find an uncharted island and decide to stay awhile. Later on, it turns out that this island is the one needed the most to aid the world's biggest crisis.  Rated T in case I decide to use some of the country's usual vocabulary. GermanyxOC
1. Chapter 1

Germany breathed in the cool ocean air as he leaned against the rail of the ship. This was the first bit of relaxing he had since he first walked onto the ship. Italy constantly kept him going. He looked out at the blue sky and water, that almost merged together at the horizon.

"Germany! Germany! I see something!" The walkie-talkie at his hip began yelling at him in Italy's voice. He was starting to regret putting Italy on guard as a look out. Fish or slightly oversized wave, it would get Italy to yell for help, but it was the only job Germany could think of that Italy could not destroy something while working.

"It's probably nothing. Is it blue?" Germany sighed and let go of the button.

"No! It's not blue! It's land!"

_Land? But we are in the middle of the ocean..._ "Alright, I will be right there." Germany told his friend and rushed off to where Italy was posted. Italy was holding a telescope in place.

"Look! Look through it!" Italy said and rushed away before Germany could say another word. He sighed and looked through the telescope. All he could see was ocean, like he could from the deck. Until he moved it around, and he saw an uncharted island in the distance. Germany jumped back in surprise. He looked at the island again to confirm he was not just seeing things.

Germany rushed down to the deck to begin giving orders to his subordinates. Instead, he found Italy waving his white flag like his life depended on it.

"Miss! There is a ship approaching Euphrasia! They don't seem to have any plans to turn." The soldier reported to his boss, Clodie Fort.

"Well, we knew this day would be coming, didn't we? Let's see."

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded and led Clodie to the surveillance room, where the live video feed from their own telescope could be seen.

"What's that at the top? Zoom in." Clodie commanded, the soldier did so, for them to realize it was someone waving a white flag, "They may not wish to retreat, but they surrender instead? This is interesting. Gather a troop to accompany me to meet their leader." Clodie told him. He nodded and rushed out of the room, leaving Clodie to watch the person with the white flag be tackled by another, in a different uniform.

The ship was allowed to dock at Euphrasia's only port, they claimed to be peaceful. Clodie believed that trust was the first thing she should demonstrate when meeting another country. Clodie stood with about fifty other men and woman as she waited for a portion of the intruders to come meet them on land.

A man with blonde hair led his own troop off of the ship. He was followed by a shorter, brown-haired fellow, who carried a white flag.

"We are sorry to have intruded on your land. We had no idea there was any land here." The blonde man greeted Clodie with a handshake, she recognized him as Germany, Ludwig Beilschmidt. His comrade with the white flag was none other than North Italy, Feliciano Vargas.

"We do not mind, in fact you are free to stay in Euphrasia as long as you like. As long as you do not decide to invade it," Clodie smiled, "You are … German, are you not?" Clodie decided to hold off on the country thing, seeing as there was too many normal humans with them.

"Yes." Germany said, a little stunned she knew.

"And you are Italian, yes?" Clodie walked over to the boy in the blue uniform, he panicked and started yelling.

"I surrender! Please don't hurt me! I'll do anything!" Italy yelled as Clodie waltzed back to Germany, giggling.

"Who are you?" Germany wondered.

"Oh, excuse me. I'm Clodie Fort. Welcome to Euphrasia."

Germany and Italy's troops stayed aboard their ship for the night, but Germany and Italy themselves were welcomed into Clodie's home for the night to get to know the country a bit better. Clodie cooked pasta to suit Italy's taste for dinner. She piled it onto a plate and set it in front of him, then sat next to her own plate.

"This looks delicious! Much better than the food we ate on the ship!" Italy said happily as he began digging into his pile of pasta.

"Yes, this looks very good." Germany agreed.

"It's nothing, really." Clodie said then put a forkful of pasta in her mouth.

"So, how come we have never heard of … Euphrasia before?" Germany wondered.

"We didn't want to initiate contact yet, we knew one of the countries might invade us, create a war, take our technologies, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah." Clodie told him.

"You obviously knew of our existence. How? If you had never been out of your home country?"

"Our technology is a bit more advanced than yours. We've never had a war to distract us."

"I see."

The three sat in silence for most of their meal, excluding Italy's noises of happiness due to being off of the ship at last. At the end, Germany and Italy helped Clodie bring the dishes to her kitchen and left for their rooms. Before they did so, they decided to thank Clodie.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Germany bowed his head politely.

"Yeah, thanks! Your cooking is delicious!" Italy agreed quickly.

"Oh, it's no problem, Germany. And thank you, Italy!" Clodie smiled cheerfully.

Germany cocked his head in confusion. "Germany? Italy?"

Clodie laughed at him, "You haven't figured it out?" Germany shook his head, Italy did the same, clueless as to what he was supposed to figure out. "I'm Euphrasia!"

**FYI! The name Euphrasia is actually from the book "A kiss in time" I liked it and figured I might as well use it in a fanfic rather than use my own!**

**Thanks for reading (sorry its a bit short) and comment to say how you like it so far! **


	2. Chapter 2

"Sir, are you sure you wish to stay here alone? With no other troops?" Germany's subordinate was trying to talk him into going back to Germany with his men or at least letting them stay with him, "How will you get back?"

"Euphrasia's military has offered to get us back when it is time for us to leave. And I do not believe we are in any danger by ourselves here." It had only been a couple days since Germany and Italy had found Euphrasia, but Germany believed his men were taking up too much of their food and space, so he decided that he and Italy would remain while the rest of them returned to their home country.

"But sir-"

"We will be fine! This country does not want to be involved in a war. They will not start one!" Germany told the man, "Go back to Germany and do not tell a soul where we are for now!" Germany ordered and left him there.

A few hours later, the troops and ship were packed and about to depart from Euphrasia. Germany, Italy and Clodie stood near the edge of a cliff, watching as the ship headed out to sea. Or rather, Germany and Clodie stood at the cliff's edge fearlessly, while Italy stood safely away from the edge, near the forest they were surrounded by.

"I hope you enjoy staying here." Clodie said, not taking her eyes off the ship Germany and Italy should have been on.

"I am sure we will."

"Can we go back now? I don't want to fall off the edge!" Italy began whining.

"Italy, you're nowhere near the edge." Clodie turned to him, giggling at his fear. She picked up the basket at her feet and stepped towards Italy, "Besides, we cannot go back just yet! We still have food for a picnic!"

"A picnic?" Italy beamed and Clodie nodded. The trio walked on the path, leading them into the forest to find a good place for their picnic where Italy could eat without fear.

In the trees, Germany stopped, wondering if he was imagining a noise, "Do you hear that? It sounds like an animal. A growling of some sort."

"Germany! Don't scare me please!" Italy began panicking. Clodie turned a few times, searching the scene with her eyes for the source of the growling she could hear, too. She spotted the culprit, it was sitting on a branch with it's back arched, posed to pounce.

"It's just a bobcat." Clodie said and began to walk away calmly.

"A bobcat! Oh no! Euphrasia! Germany! We are going to die!" Italy started yelling.

"We wouldn't have been in any danger if you hadn't started yelling!" Clodie told Italy. She shoved the basket into Germany's arms and posed herself before the bobcat.

It growled one last time before pouncing towards the nearest prey, Clodie.

"Euphrasia!" Germany yelled and tossed the basket on the ground, about to defend Clodie. Before he could help, Germany stopped in shock as he and Italy watched Clodie meet the bobcat in midair with a kick to it's shoulder blade, sending it into the dark forest beyond the tree it rested in a few minutes before.

It streaked back out, towards Clodie. It stopped in front of her, they circled each other for a minute before the cat pounced again. Clodie hit it in the side of it's skull multiple times with her fist before spinning around and kicking it straight in the stomach, sending it past Germany and into the forest, where it stayed.

"Yay, Euphrasia!" Italy cheered. Clodie grinned and bowed for her admiring audience.

"Oh, Germany! You dropped my basket!" Clodie knelt next to him, she began pushing the containers of sandwiches back into the basket.

"Sorry! I was..." Germany knelt down next to her, though she had everything already put away.

"It's alright. You had good cause." Clodie smiled. She stood and began to follow the path once again. Italy followed her, wanting to praise her for her earlier actions.

"Euphrasia! That was amazing! You are as good at fighting as Germany!" Italy told her as Germany stood and followed the two.

"Well, thank you … I think. But I don't like violence, I'm just a good fighter as required for survival. It's not something one should praise too much."

A little while later, Germany, Italy and Clodie were spread out on a blanket Clodie had tucked away in the basket. Italy was munching on his fifth sandwich half. Their shoes lined up at the edge of the blanket. They were all facing west, watching as the sky slowly turned to a beautiful orange when the sun began to set behind the trees.

Italy shoved the last bit of bread into his mouth and fell back onto the blanket, satisfied and full, "Aah. Thanks, Euphrasia! Those were delicious!" Italy licked his lips.

"Thank you! And it's no problem! I can't let my guests starve!" Clodie stuffed the containers back into her basket and pulled out a bag she had not let Italy see, "I brought chocolate chip cookies for dessert!" Italy sat up and inched towards Clodie. She laughed and handed him and cookie, then turned to offer one to Germany, "Here you go!"

"Thank you." He took the cookie from her, but only stared at her, wondering about her. She turned back to him with a cookie sticking out from her mouth and smiled at him, he could only faintly smile back.

"Germany!" Germany was walking through the hall back in Clodie's home. She and Italy ran up to him excitably, "Germany! Italy tells me it's your birthday next week!"

"What?" Germany thought for a moment and realized he had completely forgotten about it, "Yes, I guess it it."

Clodie smiled wider, "Really? That's great! We can have a birthday party!"

"No, you don't have to..."

"Yes, I do! You're my guest and I can't let you go without a real birthday!"

"Yes! We must have a birthday party for you, Germany! It'll be great!" Italy danced around the hall happily.

"Alright... I guess if it's no trouble..."

"It's no trouble at all!" Clodie told him gleefully and rushed off to her own bedroom. Germany marched past Italy who had begun to prance down the hallway singing 'Happy Birthday!'

Clodie was happy that it was finally Germany's birthday. She had the doors to the kitchen locked, so not even Italy or the birthday boy himself could see what she had in store for their dinner. Italy had also locked himself up in his room. When Germany went to ask him what he was doing, Italy just answered with; "Nobody is in here!" And went back to whatever he was doing. So Germany was left to entertain himself for the entire day.

Once dinnertime finally came around, Germany could smell all his favourite foods inside the dining room.

"Alright! Dinner is ready!" Germany heard Clodie yell from the dining room. A moment later a great wind rushed by him and he saw Italy rushing towards the dining room.

"Finally! I'm starving!" Italy cheered as he took his seat at the table. Germany stepped into the room, Clodie pulled out a chair for him and wished him a happy birthday. They began eating, Italy was a bit cautious, as he was not fond of German food.

"Wow! This is great! You can even make Germany's food taste good!" Italy marveled and shoved another giant spoonful into his mouth.

"Don't eat it too fast, Italy! You might choke, or make yourself sick!"

"Okay, Euphrasia!" Italy acknowledged her worries, but continued to eat at the same pace. When the boys' plates were cleared, though Clodie's was not, she rushed into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on the cake. Germany told her to finish her own meal first, but she ignored him.

Clodie slowly carried the cake out to the table and began singing 'Happy Birthday' with Italy. At the end, Italy continued singing with; "Are you one? Are you two? Are you three? Are you four? Are you five? Are you-"

"Okay, Italy, I think you can stop, that might take a while." Clodie laughed, and he stopped, sadly.

Germany breathed in as much air as he could but still left four candles burning. Before he could take another huff at the candles, Clodie stopped him to point the four out.

"Look, Italy! Germany has four girlfriends!" She teased.

"WHAT? How do you know that!"

"He left four candles!"

"Wow! Germany! I didn't know you could even get ONE girlfriend! You must teach me how you did it!" Italy crawled to Germany with glittering eyes.

"I do not have four girlfriends!" He yelled at Italy and blew out the rest. Italy cheered for Germany and Clodie cut up the chocolate cake into equal pieces. They each ate their pieces of the cake, when Italy was finished his third piece, he streaked out of the the room, leaving Germany and Clodie to look at each other in confusion. Italy came back only a minute later with a poorly wrapped box. It had birthday cakes and presents drawn all over it and had 'To Germany' written on the top.

"Here Germany! This is your birthday present! From me!" Italy set the box down next to Germany's plate and sat beside him, rocking back and forth impatiently for Germany to open the box. Germany sighed and ripped the box open, creating a mess to excite Italy. He opened the top and pulled out … a flag. A white flag that had been poorly painted to look like Germany's flag.

"Thank you, Italy."

"It was nooo problem! Euphrasia gave me the paints!"

"Maybe so, but it looks amazing, it doesn't matter where you got the paints, right, Germany?" Clodie smiled at him charmingly, he nodded in agreement and Italy cheered for all his hard work.

The full moon shone brightly through Clodie's window. She was still not asleep due to her uncontrollable shivering. The night was unusually cold and she had her warmest pajamas on, but her teeth still chattered from the chilly air.

She heard her door open then close again. Clodie turned her head to see Italy walking to her bed.

"Italy? What are you doing?" He ignored her question and climbed under the covers. _Is he sleep walking?_ Clodie wondered. She sat where she was for a moment, but decided to inch over to Italy's warm body. She instantly stopped shivering and was fast asleep soon afterwards.

In the early morning, Clodie could hear the birds chirping outside her window. She finally felt warm and smiled happily. She heard a tiny click which she recognized as her door being closed. Clodie opened her eyes and realized what whoever had opened her door had seen.

She was curled up next to a sleeping Italy, with her arm wrapped around his stomach. She immediately jumped off the bed, surprisingly without waking Italy. She just hoped Germany hadn't thought of it the wrong way, seeing as he was the only person that could have opened the door. She _really_ hoped he did not think of it the wrong way.

Clodie reached over and shook Italy's shoulder gently. "Italy! Wake uuuup. It's morning."

Italy groggily rubbed his eyes and sat up. He looked up at her, sleep still covering his face, "Why are you in my room?"

"I'm not, you're in mine." She smiled.

"Oh. Okay." Italy slowly got out of the bed and shuffled down the hallway to his own room. Clodie laughed at him quietly and began to dress herself in her usual uniform. She waltzed down the hallway, to the kitchen so she could prepare breakfast, humming to herself all the way.

She bumped into Germany as she passed a corner, she quickly apologized and said a sweet good morning. He replied with the same words, but a bit more coldly than her own. She blinked, a bit disappointed, and decided to ask him something.

"Germany, would you like to go for a walk, just us? Italy is asleep and it seems he will stay that way for a while. He must have worn himself out yesterday at your birthday party."

"I guess that would be nice..."

"Great. Let's go!" Clodie trotted off to the front door. She did not bother to put on a jacket, she had been cold the night before, but the sun was warm on her skin in the mornings. Germany followed her out into the crowds of trees. The canopy of orange and yellow leaves glittered in the sunlight, putting a golden tinge to everything beneath it.

"Did you have fun yesterday?" Clodie asked Germany.

"Yes, thank you, I do not usually celebrate my birthday, it was fun." He spoke the truth, but had a depressed air that made Clodie doubt his words a bit.

"Are you alright, Germany? You don't seem like yourself." Clodie studied his face from the corner of her eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine." He sighed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" He yelled angrily, "Sorry, I did not mean to yell at you." He apologized and continued walking.

"Are you angry with me?"

Germany paused for a moment, "No, I am not."

Clodie decided to change the subject slightly, hoping it would lead to her being able to tell him what he saw that morning, "Was it you that came into my bedroom this morning?"

Germany thought about lying about that, but he did not wish to lie to her, plus, she would see right through it, he was the only person in her home other than Italy, "Yes."

"Italy sometimes gets into bed with his friends, doesn't he?"

"Yes, I have had to save him from his brother sometimes."

"I was freezing cold last night. It is not usually _that _cold. So when he came in I didn't object because he warmed me up." She told him flatly, "That's the only reason he was in my bed this morning."

"But you … you had your arm around him..."

"I adore Italy as a friend, but I do not _love_ him." Clodie decided to come out with her thoughts, "That would be impossible, you see, I love some one else."

Germany had looked happier when he found out Italy was not her lover, but seemed in a worse state than before when she told him she loved another, "Oh."

"Germany, you know who it is!" She shook his arms desperately.

"Who do I know that you do, but isn't Germany? Is it one of the other countries?" He thought about it for a moment, searching through everyone he knew, since she could see everyone he knew and learn about them all from the comfort of her own home, "Please, tell me it isn't France..."

"No! I … I think I love you..." She said bashfully and lowered her head, scared of what he might say. But he did not say anything.

"I … I think I love you, too..." Germany said, feeling stupid as he said it. Clodie looked up to see his words were genuine. She smiled happily and took his hand, pulling him back to her house.

"Come on, I should start breakfast. Italy will be up soon."

Clodie fixed a breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausages and toast. The scent woke Italy and brought him blindly following the scent. Clodie set the plates holding the food on the table. Italy licked his lips and began piling his plate with food, Germany sat down and followed his actions.

Clodie joined them a few minutes later, and began to start a conversation when no one else did, "When do you think you will be leaving?" She didn't want to discuss the topic, but she had to ask.

"We cannot be gone too long, probably with in the next few weeks." Germany said.

"You should at least wait until Hallowe'en is over!" Clodie suggested, making Italy jump up awake and excited.

"Hallowe'en! Can we stay Germany? Please! Please! Please?"

"I guess that is alright." He agreed, happy he had a reason to stay a little longer.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Italy! Look! I'm you!" Clodie giggled as she stepped out of the bathroom, she wore a wig with a curl at the side and a uniform identical to his.

"Wow, Euphrasia! You look just like me!" Italy was dressed in a than suit with tan strings covering it's surface. His chest was covered in a red-brown paint and his hat held balls of the same colour.

Clodie laughed as soon as she saw his Hallowe'en get-up, "Let me guess, you're a pile of pasta."

Italy nodded, very pleased with himself, "See? I have the meatballs, and the sauce and the noodles." He pointed out every feature of his costume for her.

"Germany! Are you coming out of there any time soon?" Clodie called through the door of Germany's bedroom.

"Why do _I_ have to wear this costume?" He asked Clodie.

"Because it will be funny!" She heard a sigh for behind the door and it opened. Germany stood in front of them with green skin, a black wig, mismatched, torn clothes and bolts stuck to his neck. He also had fake stitches drawn across his arms and face by Clodie.

Italy jumped in fright and hid behind Clodie, "What have you done with poor Germany! You killed him and now you're going to kill us!" Italy began sobbing, completely forgetting that he was also dressed up.

Germany sighed, making Clodie giggle at her friends, "Italy, it's Germany! He has paint on his face."

"What?" The flow of tears stopped and he looked at Germany for inspection, still cautious of him, "Who thought of putting paint on his face?"

"Me." Clodie said.

"Wow! That's a great idea! Can we paint my face red? Like tomato sauce!"

"Yes, of course!" Clodie ran to grab the red paint then began smearing it onto Italy's face. Once in a while, Italy would giggle and move, saying it was tickling him and the paint felt weird. When she was done, she put the paints away and led them outside, "Okay, let's go!"

"Euphrasia, where are we going?" Italy wondered.

"We're going to a Hallowe'en party."

"Wow! This is going to be great! I've never been to a Hallowe'en party!" He cheered.

At the party, Clodie had to reassure Italy many times that all the people he saw were only in costumes. For the other half of the time they spent there, Italy was dragging Germany and Clodie around the building, looking at and doing all sorts of things. When it was finally late in the night, just before the trio was ready to leave, the house beside them was opened as a haunted house.

"A haunted house? I don't think I want to go in there..." Italy told Clodie, he shivered as he thought of what waited inside, "It'll be scary!"

"No, it won't, Italy! It'll be fun." Clodie said, though she knew she was lying a little.

"Okay..." Italy let Clodie drag him up to the front steps of the house with his head down so he could avoid looking at the creepiness of it.

"Come on, Germany!" Clodie called out to him. He sighed and quickly followed Italy and Clodie. The interior of the house was dark, much of it was ruined, too. There were plenty of red lights, and also black lights, which made parts of their costumes light up like the moon hanging above the house.

Clodie led the boys through the halls fearlessly. Italy clung onto the back of her shirt, trying to look at the floor only, but his curiosity got the better of him. The ghosts and skeletons clinging to the walls around them made Italy shake worse than he did when he was cold. Germany did not even flinch when he saw any of the props, not even when they spotted a woman lying, dead, in her blood-filled tub, unlike Italy.

They finally made it back downstairs to the kitchen, where it was just as dark as any other room. There was a, old witch inside, brewing a potion, when she heard the trio come in, she turned and stepped over to the table which had a few different boxes placed in a row on top of it.

"Would you like to learn my recipe for the best soup you will have ever tasted?" She asked them. Clodie nodded her head excitedly, Germany was did not do anything, like he had through out the entire house and Italy continued to shake. The woman instructed them to put their hands in the boxes, one at a time. They felt the eyes, brains, lungs and bones of a human body, making Italy more and more scared with every box.

After that, the exit was right in front of them, with only the porch between them and freedom. Clodie opened the door for Italy, he walked out first, finally relaxing a bit, until a man, looking a bit like Germany at the moment but bloodier, rushed out from around the corner, wielding a noisy chainsaw. Italy screamed and was nowhere to be seen a second later, heading in the direction of Clodie's house.

Germany and Clodie followed him at a normal pace, "Great, now he's going to have nightmares and we'll have to put up with it."

"Yeah, I feel kind of bad for convincing him to go, but I'll bet you that he did have a little fun. Didn't you?"

Germany didn't answer that question, he wasn't sure if he had, and if he did, he didn't think he would tell anyone.

Clodie sat on Germany's bed, it was neatly fixed with a suitcase and a few small piles of clothes folded on top of it. "I can't believe you're leaving already, it feels like you _just_ got here." Clodie said as she watched Germany place his clothing inside his case.

"Yes, I feel that way, too." Germany agreed.

"It's going to be boring around here without you two." Clodie smiled, an act which Germany couldn't return at the moment. Germany closed the clasps on the outside of his suitcase and picked it up. Clodie stood and they walked into the hall to find Italy.

As soon as Clodie stepped out, Italy jumped on her, sobbing like a child and hugging her as if he never would again, "Euphrasia! I'm going to miss you!"

"I'll miss you, too." She smiled at him lovingly and patted his head.

"Germany! Do we have to go?" He looked up at Germany with a sad face.

"Yes, we do. I'm sure people are beginning to wonder where we are." Germany answered with an unemotional face.

"I wish we could stay longer!" Italy sniffled.

"I wish so, too." Clodie said.

"Why don't you come back with us?" Germany suggested, "Then you could meet the other countries at the next world meeting."

Clodie thought for a moment, while Italy looked at her with hopeful eyes, "Well, I guess I could. I would have to make a few arrangements first."

"So, you're coming back with us?" Italy cheered happily.

"Yes, I am."

A few days later, the three were finally out at sea, after Clodie had arranged for someone to take over her position until she returned.

Clodie looked out at the sea, just as Germany had a month before, but instead, she watched as her home became smaller and smaller until it was completely out of sight. She wasn't very excited that she was going to be stuck on the ship for a long time, since she had never been on one for long before. But she was finally going to meet the other countries, just like her, and she was going to learn about them as well. She was excited. She couldn't wait.

Germany walked towards her and stopped at the railing next to her, not saying a word for a while, "Are you worried?"

"Why would I be?" Clodie asked him.

"I'm sure you know what some of the other countries like to do to the smaller, weaker countries." He told her.

"They won't get any of our land and they'll never be able to successfully pick on me. Did you see me with the bobcat? So, I'm not weak, either." Clodie told him confidentally. She leaned against his arm, she was tired, she hadn't been able to sleep through her excitement, "Excited and happy is all I am."

**Sorry the Hallowe'en party wasn't very detailed, I was going to write a lot more but I just couldn't...**

**And I'm sorry it's soooo short … kinda .**


	4. Chapter 4

"Wow, Germany! Your house is amazing! And you have so many clocks!" Clodie said as she explored a few of the rooms inside his home, including his work shop.

"Well, I make them for a living. Though France takes about half my profit..." Germany grumbled.

"Speaking of France, when is the next world meeting?" Clodie wondered as she felt a carving in one of the ticking clocks.

"Tomorrow. We made it back just in time." Germany told her.

"Are you excited, Euphrasia?" Italy tugged on her arm playfully.

"Yes, I think it will be interesting to meet all of the countries and see them all together." Clodie said.

"More like noisy and annoying." Germany said as he remembered how the last few world meetings had gone. It seemed that he always ended up yelling at everyone for being so noisy and uncivilized.

"Well, I'm going to go home! I haven't seen my big brother in months! He must be sitting at my home wondering where I am!" Italy said cheerfully and headed for the door, Germany knew Romano wouldn't be as excited as Italy thought, "Bye-bye! I'll see you tomorrow!" Italy yelled as he ran out of the house.

"Bye, Italy!" Clodie yelled back and turned back to Germany, "So, shall we have some dinner?" Clodie asked him.

Instead of Clodie making an entire dinner for her and Germany, Germany made a dinner by himself of his own country's cuisine. When Clodie went to bed that night, she was full with delicious German dishes.

Clodie pulled the thick blanket around her and closed her eyes to let sleep come unusually quickly, especially quick for being in an unfamiliar bed and room.

Late in the night, Clodie's dreams were being pleasant, until she began feeling hotter and hotter, it wasn't noticeable at first, but the dream was becoming hotter by the second. Clodie kicked her blanket off violently, but the heat did not cease. Her dream was a red tinge as if there were flames all around her, she thought she was surely in hell. She could faintly see Germany and reached out for him, screaming his name. He looked at her, his face cringing in pain as he stuck out his own arm to grab her, but before they could reach each other, he let out a scream as he was burned up completely.

She jumped as far as she could to try to grab him, but he was gone too soon, and her action only resulted in her hand catching fire. The flame began eating away at her body, bit by bit, until only her head was left. And as her head burned, she could see the Earth beneath her, not blue, green and white as she knew it, but orange from the flames.

Clodie opened her eyes, she stopped herself from screaming again and felt her feet, legs, torso, arms then her head, realizing it was all just a dream and she wasn't going to burn up like that.

The door flung open, Clodie sat up suddenly, startled by the door and faced Germany with a heavy breath.

"Did you scream?" He wondered, looking a bit concerned.

"I … I don't know. I was asleep." Clodie said as she calmed down even more once she realized that Germany wasn't hurt either.

"Are you alright?"

"I think so."

"Okay, then good night." He said and began to close the door but Clodie stopped him.

"Do you mind... maybe staying in here? I had a really bad dream."

"I guess I can." Germany stepped in and closed the door behind him. Clodie moved over so he could lay in the bed and get some sleep. He climbed under the blanket with Clodie, she curled up against his chest and she closed her eyes once again, feeling much safer.

"Thanks, Germany." She smiled and drifted off to sleep quicker than she had earlier in the night, but not before she felt Germany slide his arm around her shoulder, protectively into a half-hug.

Clodie dressed herself in the best dress she had brought to Germany with her. She left the bedroom and met Italy and Germany in his living room. Germany was having an argument with someone that looked much like Italy, though the conversation seemed to be Italy's brother, Romano, mostly just yelling at Germany for whatever reason.

"Euphrasia! You're here!" Italy cheered and ran to her for a hug.

"Where else would I go?" She laughed.

"Euphrasia, come meet my brother, Romano!" Italy pulled Clodie over to Romano by her sleeve, "See, Romano? This is Euphrasia! The new country I told you about!"

"Whatever. I don't care." He said rudely, crossed his arms and turned away from his brother. Italy looked down at his feet, pouting a little bit.

"Well, should we be going?" She asked Italy directly, trying to cheer him up, though she didn't know why.

Before the meeting started, Italy dragged his big brother away, completely forgetting that it was Clodie's first time, so she was almost glued to Germany's right arm as they walked through the halls as he lectured her.

"Just make sure you stay with me for this meeting. And if we get separated, don't go somewhere alone with anyone, especially not France … or Prussia. Japan is okay. Italy will just get you into more trouble..." He continued talking as he thought of more things.

Every country that she saw, looked at her, some in curiosity, some seeming to wonder what she was doing. There was one boy, she realized was Sealand, waving, saying hello to every country, trying to strike up a conversation with every one of them, except Clodie.

Germany led Clodie into the World conference room. The meeting wouldn't start for a while, but many of the countries were there, talking to others and getting ready for the meeting. A few acknowledged Germany's and Clodie's entrance.

France parted from one little group and headed towards Germany and Clodie, "Germany! Who's this? She's not a country!" He said, but gave a quick, seductive smile to Clodie, anyway.

"Yes, she is. She's been hiding in the Pacific ocean for a few centuries." Germany told him bluntly.

"Ah, that makes sense; you seem a little shy." France turned to Clodie and took her hand delicately, and kissed it, "_Bonjour, madamoiselle, _I am Francis. Come, shall we walk?" He pulled her away from Germany before either of them could say a word. He skipped away from Germany with Clodie following cluelessly.

"France! Get back here!" Germany yelled at him and followed the pair, dodging through the growing crowd.

"Uh … France, where are we going?" Clodie asked as they whisked through the people.

"We're going somewhere where we'll be alone, of course. Do you _want_ to be in a room with this many people for so long? It has to be at least slightly overwhelming." He smiled as he stopped at a door.

"Well, yes, but I'll be fine if I'm with Germany." She told him bluntly.

"You'd rather be with him rather than _moi_?" He asked, he stopped right before he grabbed the handle and turned, completely astonished.

"Of course, I don't know you well. I'd be much more comfortable with Germany, or North Italy, at least."

"I see." France said and walked away, sulking with his head bowed down. Germany caught up to them at last, it had been harder for him to get through people after France pushed them all out of the way and still be polite. He grabbed Clodie's shoulder, making her jump a little and she turned around.

"Germany! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find you." Clodie told him.

"Just make sure no one pulls you away that easily next time. I thought you had a bit more fight than that." He wondered aloud.

"I couldn't be _rude_! I had to make a good first impression, or else no one would like me."

"Well, you made France sulk like a little girl, so I'm sure you're already on a few countries' good sides. And I don't know how any one could _hate _ you." Germany said, he didn't notice that she blushed when he told her that no one could hate her, he was too busy looking at his shoes when he said it.

"Hey! Euphrasia! There you are! Come on! The other countries want to meet you!" Italy hopped out of the crowd, right beside Germany and Clodie. He grabbed her wrist, just as France had, and pulled her towards another group. She chuckled and grabbed Germany's hand as Italy pulled her away.

The group Italy led them to consisted of England, America, Japan, China, Canada and Romano. Romano completed ignored everyone else there, but stayed where he was anyway while everyone greeted the new-found country.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." England held out his hand and shook Clodie's.

"The same to you." Clodie smiled back.

She greeted China and was about to say hello to Canada, but before she could, America swung his arm around her shoulders, blocking Germany from Clodie while doing so.

"Hey! I'm America," He told her, "and just to let you know, I'm the hero around here. No one else could ever beat me." He said before Germany grabbed him and shoved him away to take his place beside Clodie again. Clodie smiled at the slight look of jealousy on his face.

"_Konnichiwa, _I'm Japan." Japan bowed his head slightly when he greeted Clodie. Clodie turned her smile to Japan and bowed her head as well.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. As I was saying before," America was at Clodie's side again, though the second time he stayed to her right side, so he wouldn't get pushed around by Germany again, "I am the hero, have you ever heard of ..." America began talking, even when someone tried to interrupt him, he continued to talk about some show or another comic book hero.

At one point after a couple of the countries had some how managed to escape, Clodie slipped over to Canada, who had stayed where he was the entire time.

"Sorry I didn't get to meet you earlier," Clodie said with a sweet smile, "I'm Euphrasia, and you're Canada, right?"

"Yes, how did you know who I am?" Canada asked quietly, but he was obviously happy and excited.

"How could I not know? You're one of the largest countries there is, in terms of land!"

"Yes, that's true, but somehow n one seems to remember me, but it's okay, I guess."

"Euphrasia, we need to get to our seats now." Germany snuck up behind Clodie, she turned and nodded, then said to Canada, "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay." Canada said as Clodie began to walk away with Germany. The two were seated next to each other. On Clodie's right side sat England, they acknowledged each other with a smile and turned to face the other countries.

England stood and shushed everyone around the room. "Good afternoon to everyone," The attempt at greeting them received a few mumbles and nods, but that all before he continued, "Our first order of business; global warming. It's crucial that we find a solution for this problem as soon as possible, does anyone have any ideas?" He wondered and looked around the room.

"There's no such thing as global warming! It's just all something you wusses are making up!" America yelled out as he jumped out of his seat, "There's no way a big hero like me would let anything like that happen!"

"You're one of the countries doing most of it!" One of the countries yelled at him.

"Yeah, of course you would deny it!"

"Then why don't we just stop whatever's causing it! Jeez, man, it's not that hard to figure out!" America told them.

"Shut up, America!"

"Why should I shut up? You should be listening to the hero's ideas! I'm the hero!" America told them. The other countries began yelling at America, America just yelled back, until the entire room erupted into bellows and screeches of arguments.

Clodie turned to Germany, "Is this how these meetings usually go?"

"Yes, every, single one." He stared at the screaming crowd with annoyed eyes that became angrier and angrier by the second.

"It doesn't seem very helpful. You probably don't get much accomplished, do you?"

"No, we don't." Germany told her.

The arguments were ended when England shut them all up with a yell. They decided to think about the topic, consult with people and scientists from their own countries and bring their solutions forth at the next meeting. England then moved onto the next topic, which resulted in the room once again becoming so loud, no one would be able to hear America rant about being the hero.


	5. Chapter 5

Clodie saw all her new friends, and the people she now considered as her friends only to be polite. They were all standing in a beautiful, grassy field with her. Clodie ran to Germany and Italy, they greeted her happily and accompanied her over to the others, many of the countries were enjoying the warmth of the summery weather, looking up at the blue sky and it's shaped clouds, a few were bent over, looking at things in the grass. Clodie saw that England was one of the ones looking up at the white shapes in the sky, he looked much more relaxed than at the world meeting that Clodie vaguely remembered. She greeted a few of her new friends as she walked hand in hand with Germany and Italy.

Clodie noticed, after a while, the sun becoming brighter, hotter, many of the other countries also seemed to notice the sudden heat. The temperature of the field slowly and consistently began to rise, until it felt as though they were on fire, and suddenly, they all were. They all screamed as the helplessly watched their clothes burn off each other and then their skin began to burn. Clodie next to her were Italy was curled on the ground, screaming out in pain for her to help him. She wanted to, but could barely even move or contain her own screams.

The sky above them was no longer the blue of the ocean it was before. It was as red as the flames that licked the air and their skin, tasting them before devouring each of them. Clodie collapsed on the ground, not able to scream any more, she could only let the pain and flames slowly kill her.

Clodie woke suddenly, she felt the sheets tangled around her body, not flames, and saw the ceiling above her, not flames. She breathed heavily, let out a small sigh of relief and began crying, hoping she hadn't screamed enough to wake Germany.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and turned over, trying to fall asleep again. The task wasn't as easy as words made it sound. Her subconscious wouldn't let her sleep, she knew the only way to calm herself was to be safe with Germany. She found it odd that she had been raised to be strong, she was taught to never cry, play her cards right, never be defeated, and yet, a few nightmares were getting the best of her.

Clodie hoped she wouldn't wake Germany, but trudged down the hallway and slipped through the door to Germany's bedroom, then crawled into the empty side of his bed. He turned over a moment later, still asleep, but felt Clodie next to him and woke.

"Clodie?" Germany rubbed his eyes to make sure sleep wasn't making him see things.

"I'm sorry, Germany! I didn't mean to wake you. I'll go if you're not comfortable..." Clodie whispered as she began to climb back out of the bed.

"No! It's alright. You had another nightmare, didn't you?" Clodie nodded to answer his question, "You can sleep here tonight, but you need to tell me about these tomorrow, alright?" Clodie nodded again when he looked sternly into her eyes.

He smiled sympathetically, letting Clodie know she was safe to fall asleep again. She let her eyes close after a moment and felt Germany's arm slip around her, like it had the night she'd had her first nightmare.

Clodie had been at Germany's house for over a month before she had her second nightmare. When Clodie woke up she didn't remember it right away, but sat in bed for a while, like she did every day. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was not in the room she usually woke up in and remembered the nightmare from the night before. She also remembered crawling into Germany's bed and the promise she made to him after that.

Clodie sat up, rubbing her forehead as a slight pain from the memory of her dream returned to her. She slid out of the bed and headed to her room to retrieve a dress to wear for the day. Once she was dressed, teeth and hair brushed, Clodie went to the kitchen where she found Germany eating and reading a newspaper in his casual clothes instead of his usual uniform.

"Good morning," said Clodie as she entered the kitchen, Germany returned her greeting and went back to his paper, she began making her own breakfast and joined Germany, "I hope I didn't sleep in _too_ late."

"Only an hour." He replied.

"That's pretty late..."

"Well, not as late as Italy sometimes sleeps." Germany scowled, "Besides, it's perfectly fine with me. We don't have anything important to attend to today." Clodie nodded, but did not say anything else as she began to eat her breakfast. "Are you going to tell me about your nightmares? You said you would."

"I don't want to..." Clodie mumbled sadly.

"How can I help if you don't tell me what it's about?" He asked her.

"How are you going to help a nightmare?" Clodie replied, crossing her arms.

He sighed, "I don't know, but maybe we'll figure something out."

Clodie refused to say anything for a couple minutes, she just ate her breakfast, Germany didn't push it, he knew she would start talking eventually, and she did. "The first one. Everything was red from the flames, that was all I could see other than you. You were on fire and eventually disappeared, then I caught fire and woke up.

"Last night, I saw everyone. Italy, Romano, England, America, Spain, France, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, everyone. We were in a field and it just got hotter and hotter until we were all on fire and we all … died. Italy was terrified, his face... And you, especially the first dream, it hurt, a lot."

Germany wasn't sure what to say, he just watching her awkwardly as she told him about the nightmares, "Well, they're just dreams..."

"I know. But those are the worst dreams I've ever had."

Germany was about to say something else, but they heard a knock on the door before he could. Germany sighed and went to the front door. Clodie kept eating, pondering the dreams, until she was interrupted by shouting and someone barging into the kitchen.

"I also came to bug that little boyfriend of yours!" The man yelled as he waltzed into the kitchen like he owned the house. It was Germany's big brother, Prussia. "What? He's not here? That's rare! You've probably got him locked up somewhere! Good job! Keeping prisoners!" Prussia cackled, then noticed Clodie sitting cluelessly at the table in the center of the kitchen. "Who is that?" Prussia asked rudely when Germany walked by him and took his seat across from Clodie once again.

"She's a friend. You know the way out, good-bye."

"So you finally got bored with the little pasta twit? You probably got too annoyed with him 'cause you're only used to being around the most awesome person in the world!"

"Italy has a home, he _does_ go there." Germany sipped his coffee and held up his paper again.

"So, you hang out with girls while he's gone? Or is she 'sleeping over?'" Prussia grinned as he made quotations with his fingers. Clodie choked on her food, coughed and glanced at Germany, he was speechless for a moment.

"No! It's not like that, right Euphrasia?" Germany choked on his words a bit and turned to Clodie. She nodded, opened her mouth to say something but Prussia interrupted.

"Euphrasia? You're that new country, right?" Prussia wondered. Clodie nodded in response. "What? Too speechless from my awesomeness? Don't worry, you're not the first!" Prussia grinned.

"You're awfully full of yourself." Clodie mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm leaving now. I don't want to interrupt your _fun_." Prussia cackled as he left the kitchen and opened the front door.

"That's really your brother?" Clodie wondered.

"Yes." German groaned.

"You two aren't anything alike."

"Luckily."

Clodie chuckled, "You're lucky. I've obviously never had anything close to a sibling."

"It's not as exciting as some people make it out to be."

"It would have at least been nice to have a chance."

"Just don't too down about it. I'm sure Italy would be happy to think of you as his sister!" Germany said, making Clodie chuckle.

"That's true."

"Speaking of Italy, he wanted you to go to his house again today."

"You're coming, too, right?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Between me _and_ Italy, no." Clodie grinned.

Germany laughed, "Alright, I'll go."

The day was much colder than it was when Clodie first arrived in Europe, though the difference wasn't very large. It was still cold, and it had begun to snow a couple weeks after. Germany and Clodie stepped out of the car as they pulled up to Italy's home.

"You must be Euphrasia!" A girl ran out of Italy's home. She had straight, brown hair, much longer than Clodie's. Clodie recognized her as Hungary. Italy followed her happily out of the house with a big smile on his face, as usual.

"Euphrasia!" Italy yelled as he bounded towards Germany and Clodie. He ran past Hungary and leaped into Clodie's and Germany's arms.

"Italy! We just saw you yesterday!" Clodie laughed out loud.

"And it's been sooo long since!" Italy whimpered as he hugged her tighter. Hungary caught up to Italy at last, laughing at him.

"Okay, Italy, you're going to introduce us, right?" Hungary asked him.

"Right!" Italy stood up straight, "Euphrasia, this is Hungary! And Hungary, this is Euphrasia!"

"It's nice to meet you, I've heard a lot from Italy." Clodie grinned as she shook Hungary's hand politely.

Hungary chuckled as Italy began bugging Germany about playing football, "He asked me to bring over a couple dresses for you, he said that yours wouldn't do for the banquet."

"What banquet?" Clodie wondered.

"The New Year's banquet. Every year, all the countries gather in a chosen country to celebrate the new year on the day after Christmas. This year, it's Italy and Romano's turn. Italy told me that you didn't bring any 'fancy' dresses with you."

"No, I didn't, I didn't think I would need one."

"Well, come on, I brought a few for you to try on!" Hungary said excitedly and pulled Clodie into the warmth of the house.

Hungary picked out a pretty blue dress after what felt like hours to Clodie. It was something like Clodie would expect to see Italy wearing. The dress was like a sailor uniform, like the Japanese schoolgirls wore in some of the anime Japan had shown her. The skirt fell down to the floor, only a centimeter above it, the sleeves were long, thin and folded over at the wrists. Clodie wouldn't consider it fancy, but she figured it was appropriate to wear to just a banquet, especially since there would only be a few girls.

"Thanks, Hungary, I really like it." Clodie spun around with the dress still clinging to her figure.

"That's good, it definatly looks good on you. I've never worn it," Hungary admitted, "So, really, thank you for giving me a reason to get rid of it!"

Clodie laughed, "No problem!" Let me change and we'll go find Germany and Italy." Clodie began walking back into the change room.

"Well, actually, I need to be going..." Hungary said as she began to collect the dresses that were laying around the spare room.

"Alright, I'll change and Ill help you pack up the dresses." Clodie switched back to her regular dress, folded up the one from Hungary and stepped back out to see all the dresses were gone, except one, which was Hungary picked up as soon as Clodie left the changing room. "I was only in there a few minutes...Wasn't I?"

Hungary chuckled, "Yes, you were. Anyway, I'm leaving now, I'll be seeing you." Hungary patted Clodie's shoulder and was out of the room an instant later. Clodie trotted down the stairs to find Germany and Italy.

"Germany! Come on, Germany! Let's play football! Football! Germany, football!" Clodie heard Italy's voice coming from his living room. Clodie peeked her head around the corner to see Germany and Italy sitting on the couch.

"Italy! Can't you see it's snowing outside?" Germany snapped.

"So? We can still play football! Who said we have to play it in the summer? Though I do like the summer much better..."

"Yeah, why not? Let's go play football!" Clodie set the dress in the bag Hungary had left for her and placed it gently on the table.

Italy cheered "Hooray!" and went to collect some wintery clothes for Clodie and Germany to borrow.

"What are you doing?" Germany asked Clodie as she bent over the back of the couch to place a knit hat over his hair.

"I don't want you to get cold."

"I won't get cold."

"It's too cold outside for you to be out there for too long without a hat." Clodie stated as she handed him his coat.

"I'm not going outside. I'm not going to play football, either. There's more important things I could be doing."

"What's more important at Italy's house than having fun? Besides, I know you really want to." Clodie smiled as he grumpily put on his coat. She zipped up her own, then helped Italy with his. They all tied up their boots and headed into the snow with Italy's ball.

Germany stood in front of the goal, since that was the least active position, "You're not going to stay warm if you just stand there!" Clodie yelled at him as she and Italy ran farther away with the ball. Italy threw it on the ground and began kicking it, trying to keep it away from Clodie, while kicking it closer and closer to Germany.

Clodie stole the ball from Italy within a few minutes, though she could have gotten it sooner if she hadn't been playing nicely. She laughed as Italy followed her around the field and shot it into Germany's net, without him even trying to defend it.

Italy took the ball back into the field and began kicking it again. Clodie pretended to try to get it from him, and watched as he scored a goal. They went until Italy had twelve points and was ahead of Clodie by two. Clodie then pulled Germany out of the net and told Italy he was the goalie.

Germany let Clodie have the ball first, he seemed reluctant to play, but he was ready to put his all into the game, he knew Clodie would be a much tougher opponent than the one he was used to. Clodie laughed at him, then kicked the ball in Italy's direction. Germany ran after her, grinning madly, he tried to kick the ball out of her reach, but didn't succeed. Clodie made it all the way back to the goal and kicked it nicely into the net. Italy still avoided the ball even though it was lightest kick Clodie could manage.

Clodie threw the ball to Germany and waited for him to start. With much of a struggle, Clodie got the ball back and scored again. The second time Germany had the ball, Clodie tried to kick it away from him, but he made it down to the net where he finally scored a goal.

Clodie took the ball from Italy and started kicking it once again. Germany stole it from her after a few goals and she couldn't seem to get it back. After Germany scored four more goals, Clodie was trying to get the ball, but tripped over her own foot and fell flat on the ground.

"Ooooow." Clodie whined as she turned onto her back.

"Are you okay?" Germany ran over to her, leaving the ball in the middle of the field. He knelt down next to her as she slowly sat up.

"I think so..." Clodie said, sounding unsure. A second later she was on her feet and had the ball in her possession, cackling like a maniac as she ran away from him.


	6. Chapter 6

"Euphrasia! Germany! Santa came! Santa came! He really came!" Italy pounded on the door of Germany's bedroom. The noise made the both of them jump, neither of them had gotten much sleep, they had been up almost all night preparing for Christmas day.

"Okay, Italy! We'll be out in a minute!" Clodie cried out to Italy. He yelled back saying he was going to the living room, "Don't open any of the presents yet!" Clodie turned to Germany, grinning wildly.

"What time is it?" He asked her without opening and eyelid.

"Almost a quarter to five." She told him.

"The only day of the year I could hope to get him up this early..." Germany sighed as he heaved himself out of the bed. Clodie laughed as she did the same. They left the room without changing, so they walked down the hallway, to find Italy with presents ready to be opened sitting around him on the couch.

"Yay! Now we can open presents!" Italy said, before he could tear at the wrappings on the first present, Clodie stopped him.

"Why don't we sleep a little first? Aren't you a bit tired?"

"Not at all! Besides, we're all wide awake, why should we go to sleep? Then we can go to sleep early tonight and be well rested for the banquet!" Italy told them, Clodie nodded in agreement, he had a point. Germany nodded and agreed to start their Christmas day.

Clodie slipped into the sailor dress, she stood in front of the mirror and let her curled hair fall sweetly around her face and neck. She pulled the stockings over her feet, then her slipped her feet into her shoes. She left the bedroom she now only used for changing, since she kept sleeping in Germany's bed to keep the nightmares away. Maybe that's why Italy did it so much.

She found Germany waiting for her in his living room. He wore a black suit with his hair pushed back, as usual. He stood up when she entered, awe plain on his face.

"You look handsome in a suit, I hope you know." She smiled slightly, flattening the dark red tie that hung against his chest.

"Well … Uhm, you look better." He blushed as he stumbled over his words and stared up at the ceiling.

Clodie giggled, "You're looking a bit more suitable for the occasion than I am."

"I don't think anyone will care," He mumbled nervously, "They'll all think you're pretty anyway."

"Awe, thanks, Germany." Clodie glanced down at her toes peeking out from under her dress and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "Should we be going soon?"

"Yes, let's go..." Germany said, but they stayed where they were for a moment, not sure exactly what to do about their nerves. Clodie nodded awkwardly and trotted away to get in the car.

The banquet was being held at a beautiful hall, decorated by the most talented Italian artists. They found Italy with Romano, directing employees and guests to where they needed to go. He told the pair where they were to sit, then joined them before the meal began. The platters brought out to them were filled with all the pasta and sauces Clodie could imagine.

Italy, Romano and Spain were seated across from her and Germany. Next to Clodie was where France had been placed. She had wished someone like England, Canada or even America had been placed there instead, but she knew Italy and Romano were terrified of England, Canada would just be ignored by the boys and America would just get on Germany's nerves. Clodie sighed, but knew she'd be able to handle him, even if she couldn't, she could always switch with Germany.

"Ah, _madamoiselle_, we meet again." France smiled as he took his seat.

"Hello, France." Clodie said politely.

"How was your Christmas?" He wondered, glancing over at Italy.

"It was … fun. I've never really had anyone to spend Christmas with."

"Then I'm sure it was very exciting."

"Euphrasia! Aren't you going to eat your pasta?" Italy asked her, worried that she wouldn't.

"Of course, it looks delicious, Italy!" Clodie told him, crammed noodle after noodle onto her fork until it could hold no more and shoved it in her mouth. After that, she ate a bit more delicately, to avoid almost choking again.

After the dessert platters were completely spot free, everyone chatted for a while, as the servants cleared away their plates, set out many bottles of wine and trays of finger food. The tables were rearranged, making Clodie a little confused and worried.

"Germany," Clodie tugged on his sleeve, "Do these banquets usually have dances afterwards?"

"Italy planned most of this, of course there is going to be a party afterwards." Germany told her flatly. Clodie bit her lip nervously.

"How would that work?" There isn't even half a dozen girls here and over a hundred guys."

"Only countries attend the banquet, after that, anyone can be invited. Italy probably found a bunch of Italian girls..." Germany grumbled.

"Ah, _une beau fille_, would you like to dance?" France appeared behind her, he held out his hand and bowed, awaiting her response. When there was none, he stood up straight, "I promise to not do anything you wouldn't approve of."

"I don't really know how to dance..."

"Don't worry, I can teach you."

Clodie reluctantly stood, leaving Germany behind and took France's hand, then followed him out to the dance floor. The band on a stage started up and France began to guide her, she stepped with him, easily figuring out how to step.

"Are you sure you don't know how to dance? You seem to have danced before." France said after they glided around the room for a little while.

"I've never."

"Then you're a very fast learner." He told her, Clodie looked away, blushing slightly, not as much as she had right before the banquet, though...

The song ended and there was silence for a moment, France let go of Clodie's hand and waist. He turned her around by her shoulders and whispered in her ear right before gently pushing her away, "Now go find Germany and impress him."

She turned to look at him curiously, he gave her a friendly smile and she flashed one of thanks back to him, then rushed off, with her impression of France being much better than the first.

Clodie walked as quickly as she could to where she left Germany at the beginning of the song. She didn't even notice the person that ran at her like a mad man and crashed into her noisily.

"Euphrasia! England! He's looking for you!" Italy yelped, absolutely terrified, he began to pull a white handkerchief from the lining of his suit as he began pulling Clodie away, "You better run! Soon!" Then he was gone as quick as he had come.

"Euphrasia?" Clodie heard England's voice from behind her and spun around to greet him, "I saw you dancing with … France, and was wondering if you would prefer dancing with a proper gentleman."

"I … Oh, alright." She said, a bit reluctantly, took England's hand and began dancing with the tune and him.

Clodie spotted Germany, still seated at the table, but he was talking to a girl that stood next to him. She seemed to be a bit timid, Clodie could only hope they weren't going to dance, or that he wouldn't see her dancing with England.

"I must say, you look absolutely stunning in that dress." England told her.

"I feel a bit under-dressed in it, being here."

"Well, no one expects you to be wearing a ball gown."

"Even so.." Clodie looked down, England didn't say anything, but when she lifted her head again, the room was aflame and England's face was no longer happy, but covered with terror and pain. Clodie jumped back in surprise and the illusion was gone.

He stopped dancing when she flinched, looked her straight in the eyes with worry, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine … I just thought I saw something." Clodie shook it off and began dancing with England.

"Are you sure? We can sit down if you need to."

"No, I'm fine." Clodie repeated. The song came to an end, Clodie let go of England, though he looked like he thought she would dance with him again, "Sorry, I need to find Germany." Clodie said, then ran off, leaving him behind with a disappointed look.

Clodie ran through the crowd, looking every which way. She was looking for Germany, but when she found Canada sitting all alone at one of the tables, she felt as though she had no other choice than to ask him to dance.

"Canada!" She yelled as she ran towards him.

"Euphrasia! I was just wondering why I hadn't seen you at all." He stood up to meet her on the dance floor.

"I'm here now. Do you want to dance?"

"That would be nice..." Clodie beamed at him and grabbed his hand, he shyly slid his hand around her waist and they started swaying with the music. They didn't talk throughout the song, but when it ended, Canada thanked her for dancing with him and let her go look for Germany.

Clodie bumped into a couple twirling around like a pair of children, "Sorry!" She yelped as she turned to face them, "Oh, Italy and Hungary!"

"Euphrasia!" Italy yelled excitedly and let go of Hungary, "Do you want to dance with me?"

"But you're dancing with Hungary!"

"No, no, it's alright, we had a couple songs. How has everyone liked the dress so far?"

"I've already gotten a few compliments!" Clodie giggled.

"That's good! Well, I should be going to find Roderich." Hungary smiled sweetly and pranced away into the crowd.

"Alright, let's dance." Clodie sighed with a smile, grasping Italy's hand, "Italy, you look so adorable in a suit." Clodie told him, as she glimpsed at his blue tuxedo, his was darker than Clodie's dress, his was like the blue of the sea and hers, the blue of the sky.

"Thank you! You know, that dress reminds me of one of my shirts..."

"I thought so..."

"I still like it, it's pretty! Like you!"

"Thank you, Italy! I'm glad you like it."

"Ahuh, now, spin!" Italy yelled and let go of her waist for her to twirl around like Hungary had been.

Clodie rested her arm back on Italy's shoulder and continued to dance, "Hey! I told you to dance with Germany! Not Italy!" Clodie caught a glimpse of France yelling at her as he danced with one of the Italian guests, "Italy's too eccentric with his dancing for you!" Clodie laughed.

"Oh, were you going to dance with Germany?" Italy asked sadly, thinking he might have made Clodie unhappy.

"Yes, but I knew I would dance with you at_ least_ once tonight!"

"Alright! So, we'll dance until the end of this song, okay?"

"Okay!" Clodie agreed. When the song ended, Clodie gave Italy a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, "Go have some fun!" Clodie told him, he nodded and enthusiastically ran away to find a girl to dance with.

Clodie walked quickly to make sure no one could interrupt her search, he was, thankfully, still seated at their table. She stopped at the edge of the dancing crowd for a moment, adoring Germany in his tux for a moment before walking up to him. He didn't notice her at first.

"Uhm … Ludwig." He peered up at her, realizing that was the first time she had called him by name, "Do you want to dance?" He stood before answering with a nod, she took his hand and led him to the dance floor.

"I thought you were dancing with France." He said curiously, he slipped his hand around her waist and danced slowly to the music.

"No," she laughed, "He was just teaching me how to dance."

"England was, too?"

"No, he wanted to dance with me."

"And France _didn't_ want to dance with you?"

"I'm sure he did," Clodie laughed again, "But he was a gentleman about it."

"Good."

"Why?"

"It wouldn't have been good for him if he hadn't."

Clodie glanced at him, amused, "That's cute, but please, don't beat anyone up on my behalf." He grinned at her, she laughed at him. Clodie rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, so all she could do was listen to his heart pound against her ear.

"Euphrasia, I–"

"You _can_ call me Clodie, I'm not _just_ a country." Clodie told him without even opening her eyes.

He didn't respond for a moment, "Clodie," She looked up the second time he spoke, but when she did so, all she could see was her nightmares, all around them, and they did not go away. Germany's face was filled with pain, she pushed him away, knowing it was just a hallucination and trying to get away from it. "Clodie!" He reached out to her in worry, but she dodged his grasp and ran away. She kept her head down and her eyes shut, but she kept colliding with chairs and had to continue through hungry flames. Germany ran after her, catching the attention of a larger number of the crowd.

"Euphrasia?" England ran after the two, then France and Italy closely followed. Clodie ran without looking back to the room adjacent to the ballroom. With no one to occupy it, it was dark except for the moonlight that shone in through the windows. Clodie curled up in a corner next to one of the large windows. Germany stepped in and glanced all around the room for her.

He spotted the little lump in the corner and stepped cautiously towards her. He knelt down next to her just as England, France then Italy came running in. "Clodie?" She relaxed only slightly when he touched her shoulder. She let her legs slide across the floor and she leaned up against the wall.

"I've been pushing them away too long. I'm going to start dreaming whether I want to or not." She said specifically to Germany, but without opening her eyes to look at him.

"Come on, you can rest on a sofa." Germany told her as he picked her up. He carried her to the center of the room where two couches faced each other. He laid her down on one and sat on the floor next to her head. "Just rest a little while."

"Okay..." She said and curled up into a comfortable position on the couch.

"Maybe someone should get her a glass of water?" Germany suggested to the three standing helplessly behind him. England offered to go and ran out of the room, returning quickly with a glass in hand.

Italy sat at the end of the opposite couch, watching Clodie with much worry showing on his face. France sat next to him, wondering what he was doing, worrying about Clodie instead of being in the ballroom, dancing and flirting with all the pretty little Italian girls.

Clodie rested on the couch for over twenty, the boys standing over her, waiting to see if she was alright. She flinched and teared up quite a bit from her dreams, but when she finally woke, she seemed to be feeling fine and happy.

What the boys didn't know was that through Clodie's eyes, they were all standing in flames. After resting a while, there wasn't as much to her hallucinations, there was only fire that didn't affect anyone it was around. She decided to ignore it and try to have as much fun as she could during the rest of the night.

When they returned to the ballroom, the band was playing the most bouncy and cheery music they had played all night. The five of them joined in right away, clapping as they stood around the dancers in the middle of a man-made circle. Other people began to join in, including Italy. He grabbed Clodie's hand, completely forgetting what had just happened, and pulled her into the circle. Clodie laughed, clapped and danced, arm in arm with Italy, they switched partners and Clodie found herself with France for a little while. When they switched again, Clodie ran to Germany. He was clapping and smiling as he watched her happily prance around the ring, but was reluctant to join in.

By the end of the night, he was no longer worried about Clodie, neither was she. Just ignoring it and having the fun she was, was enough to keep the flames from eating up all her friends. But she knew it couldn't last much longer.


	7. Chapter 7

Every night since the dinner, Clodie had nightmares, there was no stopping them from terrorizing her, and feeding from her fear. Every night, Germany had to wake her numerous times, the number constantly growing each night, to help her escape the nightmares.

Even so, Clodie didn't let the dreams affect her during the day, she yawned more often, but the rest of her day was as normal as ever.

Italy had decided he wished to spend new year's eve with Clodie, Germany, Romano and a few other friends. He was excited about the coming year and decided to host a party in his home. Germany was just happy that he wouldn't have to plan a party for Italy's sake after all.

Clodie wondered about what he had planned for them as she slipped into a clean dress, she fixed her hair so it sat half in a pony tail and partly down. _He probably just wants to watch movies and eat popcorn with a few drinks, then count down to midnight. _She thought as she closed the door to her bedroom quietly, _He probably only invited us, Romano and Japan. _Clodie waltzed down the hallway towards the front door.

"Are you ready to go?" Germany asked when he spotted her turning around the corner, he was already bundled up in his coat and winter boots.

"Mhm, are you going to put on a hat? Your ears are going to freeze."

"Right..." He searched for one in the closet, then pulled it over his blonde hair. Clodie wrapped herself in her winter coat, she stepped into her boots and they were ready to leave.

They drove to Italy's house in silence, Germany was too focused on the snow covered roads for conversation, so Clodie watched as the snowy homes with families all readying themselves for the new year flew by them. They ran up the steps to the house as snow began to swirl around them, completely oblivious to the dozen cars parked around their own.

Clodie and Germany stepped into the warmth of the house, at last, and were surprised by America and Italy in front of them.

"Euphrasia! Germany! There you are, we were wondering where you were at!" Italy yelled excitedly, he helped the pair hang their coats in the closet and led them further into the house. He wore a paper party hat with a string wrapped around his jaw, holding it in place. There were also a few littering the floor, some of the guests wore them, as well.

"Italy, how many people did you invite?" Clodie gaped at the small crowd of people in his living room.

"Not many, I invited Romano, Spain, France, you guys, Japan, Hungary, Austria and America, which was a bad idea 'cause he brought England ..."

"Ah, I see."

"Yeah, so Romano's upstairs and he won't come down."

"Oh, all right then."

"Come on, I'll get you some wine!" Italy grabbed Clodie's wrist, who grabbed Germany's in turn and they walked in a line towards the kitchen. France was in there, he was watching a drunken England stumble around the island of the kitchen.

"He's drunk already?" Clodie wondered.

"America got him to play one of his drinking games." France explained to her.

Italy grabbed another two wine glasses and filled them halfway with wine, then handed them to Clodie and Germany. "He's as scary when he's drunk as he usually is..." Italy sighed, watching England curiously.

"Why don't you take some wine to Romano and tell him so, then?" Clodie suggested.

"I don't know if he'll listen to me..." Italy thought for a second, "But all right!" He grabbed second glass, a bottle of wine and headed out of the kitchen towards the staircase. He bumped into America on his way by, he said a quick "sorry," and was out of sight a second later. America joined Clodie in leaning against the counter with a glass of wine in hand, all while laughing at England.

"Dude! You really can't hold your alcohol!"

"I can hold my alcohol better than you!" England slurred and jabbed America in the chest with his finger. America laughed at him again when he lightly flung England's hand aside and he almost toppled over.

"Come on, let's get you into the living room where you can sit." Clodie said and grabbed England's shoulders to support him.

"Aawe, Euphrasia, you're taking away all the entertainment." France whined. She ignored him and guided England through the doorway to keep him from falling and hitting his head. Clodie got him to the couch where he plopped down, which was really more like he collapsed there. Clodie figured she would leave him there for a while and return to Germany's side, but a moment later she noticed Japan sitting in one of the enormous-backed chairs, almost completely swallowed up by the chair.

"Japan! Hello!" Clodie said, seeming a tad more surprised than she was.

"Ah, _Konnichiwaa, _Euphrasia-san." He answered.

"I almost forgot Italy invited you. I didn't think you would have actually come."

"I had not planned on it, but England-san and America-san insisted."

"I did no such thing! You.. can do whatever you want!"

"Um.. Why don't you come into the kitchen? We'll let him be for a while." Clodie suggested, unsure of herself, she had no idea if this was really a good thing to be doing, she had never been in this kind of situation before, but dismissed her worries when Japan agreed without a thought.

The time became later and later, Romano, at some point decided to join them, finally assured that England was easily subdued when drunk by Italy, though Romano was also a bit wasted as well. Spain followed him down the stairs. Some time after eleven they moved to the living room to turn on the television to be sure they didn't miss the count down. Every one had already had quite a few drinks, Clodie was feeling a bit giggly and tipsy.

"Guys!" Italy screamed, catching everyone's attention, he pointed to the television, "The countdown's going to start, the year is almost over!"

"He makes it sound as if it wasn't all too great." Clodie mumbled to Germany with a smirk.

"Ten!" Italy began chanting.

"Nine!" England and Spain joined in.

"Eight!" so did Germany and Clodie.

"Seven!" Hungary was cheerfully counting down, tugging at Austria's arm.

"Six!" France began yelling with them as well.

"Five!" Romano started going along with them in a slightly drunken chant.

"Four!" Austria gave in to Hungary, though he didn't seem too happy.

"Three!" Japan was counting with them in a quiet tone.

"Two!" They were all counting down together, the drunk and the sober.

"One! Happy New Year!" They screamed excitedly. Italy hugged Japan, who shoved him away instantly, Italy then hugged whoever else he could get to. America and France toasted their wine glasses and drained them. Spain tackled Romano into a hug. Clodie turned to Germany for a toast, but was met by his lips against hers, which she didn't object to.

He pulled away from her a minute later, she grinned at him, he blushed slightly, his eyes trying to escape hers, and answered her silent remark, "What? It's good luck, at least in my culture..."

"Well, we don't want to miss an opportunity to receive good luck." Clodie smiled at him, as soon as his face turned back to hers, she stood on her tip-toes to reach his face, and returned the kiss. She wrapped her arm around his neck, he showed no objections and slipped his arms around her waist. Clodie had been waiting for this moment awhile, and was very glad she wasn't the who initiated it.

Clodie forgot about the wine glass she held, she let it tilt in her hand and a small stream of wine poured out, onto Germany's shoe. Clodie squeaked and jumped back when she felt it splash onto her ankle.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ludwig! I'll grab a cloth!" Clodie ran away to the kitchen before Germany could get a word it. She pulled out a cloth from one of the drawers and hurried back to Germany. She knelt on the floor next to him, ignoring his protest, and wiped the wine from his shoe.

Italy bounded over to them with a wine bottle in his hand as Clodie stood up. "More wine?" Italy asked excitedly, though he didn't wait for an answer and refilled their glasses, then trotted away again.

Clodie shrugged with a smile and held out her glass to Germany, "Cheers." They clinked their glasses together and poured the wine down their throats.

Clodie's eyes snapped open when she heard some kind of mumbling. She vaguely remembered crawling into the bed she occupied in the earlier hours of the morning. She was at Italy's. Everyone had decided to sleep in his home after the party he threw for New Year's, since they were all completely drunk by the time the party was over. Her head was throbbing slightly, but it was better that she only had a small head ache.

She turned her head to look at Germany lying next to her. Usually he looked peaceful when he slept, much more peaceful than Clodie saw him otherwise, but that night his face was plastered with hurt and worry.

"Clodie... No… I... Italy..." He mumbled as he dreamed, his expression becoming more and more terrified, tears began to form in the corners of his eyes.

"Ludwig?" Clodie shook his shoulder, "Ludwig, wake up." She tried to wake him nicely, but Germany wasn't a light sleeper, she ended up shaking him a bit more violently than she would have liked. His woke with a start, his eyes snapping open in surprise. He looked over at Clodie, who showed him a worried expression, "What–" Clodie tried to ask him what was the matter, but he pulled her into a hug, stopping her mid-sentence, "Ludwig, what's wrong?"

He took a moment before answering, continuing to hug her protectively, "I had one of your dreams, but you were there, with Italy, and Prussia was there, too."

"And... We all burnt to death?" Clodie asked, she felt him nod his head in response, "Well, you know it's just a dream.. Even if it's a painful one. Italy's safely asleep in his bed, and I'm right here." She assured him, brushing the side of his head gently with her fingers.

"I know..." Clodie continued to sooth him in their silence, but she was interrupted by the blood-curdling scream of Italy. They looked at each other with wide, panic-filled eyes and were out of bed a second later. Germany threw the door open and they sprinted down the hall towards Italy's bedroom.

Italy was sitting up in his bed, sobbing violently and crying out. "Italy! What's the matter? What happened?" Clodie wondered as she pulled him into a tight embrace.

"I.. h- had.. a nightma-a-a-re." He cried, making his words a bit unintelligible.

"A nightmare?" Clodie glanced up at Germany, "What was it like?"

"I don't wanna talk about it!" He yelled and began crying even worse.

"It's just a dream, Italy, just tell me what happened in it." Clodie told him, he took a few minutes to calm down enough to speak.

"You were … there. And Germany. Romano, Spain, Japan and France, too. We were having so much fun, but then..." His eyes began tearing up again, "You all caught on fire! And I tried to dump water on you, but it wouldn't work! Then I caught on fire, too! It hurt so much!"

"Don't worry, it was _just_ a dream, I promise you that's all it was." Clodie rubbed his back calmingly, "Ludwig, why don't you check on everyone else? I'm sure they all woke when Italy screamed, which I think may have been a good thing for them all..." He opened his mouth to protest, but knew there was no point, Italy was safe, and he was sure that Clodie was right when she thought they might all have had the nightmares.

Clodie tried to get Italy to fall asleep again, but even with her promises to keep him company, he refused to fall asleep.

"Italy, you're going to have to go to sleep again sometime. You can't stay awake forever." She told him.

"No! I'm going to stay awake for the rest of my life!" Clodie knew it wasn't the greatest time, but couldn't stop herself from smiling at his irrationality.

"Should we get a snack then? I think it's late enough in the morning to be awake, anyway. Come on." She took his hand and pulled him down the stairs to his kitchen.

"Oh, god, my head. I swear, I'm never going to drink again." England was hunched over the counter with his shirt pulled up over his head to block out the light.

"Screw that, I need a drink." France said as he poured himself a glass of wine from one of the bottles from the previous night.

"Isn't it a little... _very _ early to be drinking?" Clodie wondered as she entered with Italy in tow. He went straight for the cupboard where Clodie knew he kept his assortment of pasta noodles.

"Not after the nightmare I just had." He answered.

"Hey, I had it, too, and you don't see me drowning it away in liquor." England peeked his head out from under the collar of his shirt, but immediately determined it was a bad idea and retreated back under the fabric.

"Where everyone was on fire?" Clodie asked him, not too loudly, too make sure she didn't make Italy upset again.

"Yes, did you-"

"It's the one I was having at the benquet. I've been having them a lot lately. Italy dreamt that tonight, as well, and Germany, too. Weird thing is that I didn't." Clodie explained to the two.

"That's why I heard him scream..." France thought for a moment, "So, now we're all having this dream?" he wondered, Clodie shrugged, meaning it was apparently true, "I wonder why."

"I want to know, too, but I have no clue."


End file.
